Indian woman falls into pavement sinkhole in Malaysia, swept into sewer line

An Indian woman, reportedly from the state of Andhra Pradesh, had a freak accident in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as a sinkhole opened up on a pavement, and she disappeared into it, getting swept into the sewer line underneath the pavement.

An NDTV report identified the woman as Vijayalakshmi, aged 45, from Animiganipalle village in Chittoor district.

As per reports, she was walking down the pavement when it collapsed beneath her feet and a large sinkhole opened up. Her family — husband and son — were with her, but they managed to escaped falling into the sinkhole.

For several hours following this bizarre accident on Saturday, Vijayalakshmi could not be located, even though search and rescue operations were launched by the Kuala Lumpur civic authorities almost immediately.

According to the NDTV report, the missing woman was a frequent traveller to Malaysia and Singapore on business trips.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asked office-bearers from the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society to support the search and rescue mission.

A BBC report quoted the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department operation commander Mohd Riduan Akhbar as saying that 15 fire firemen had been sent to the scene as soon as the distress call was received.

“The Special Tactical Operation and Rescue Team of Malaysia (STORM) and the K9 unit are at the location,” he said.

In addition, there were 90 personnel from other agencies engaged in the search and rescue, said local police Chief Assistant Commissioner Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman. CCTV footage was being examined.